


being great must suck

by pettigrace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Fluff, Jace Being an Asshole, M/M, Meet-Cute, Nerd Simon, POV Jace Wayland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 03:37:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8605783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pettigrace/pseuds/pettigrace
Summary: Jace works as a cashier at a supermarket and becomes rather fond of this one customer who keeps buying weird things.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Billy Talent's "Line & Sinker".
> 
> Okay, so I started writing this last night. It's my first Jimon fic so please don't bite my head off, but last week when this woman in front of me in the line asked the cashier how he was and he was so surprised, my mind just went "JIMON!!!"  
> So yeah, here you go. If you like it, feel free to leave a comment! :)

Jace doesn't exactly enjoy his work at the local supermarket. Day for day, it's the very same. He scans things, he collects money, he cleans up whatever a clumsy customer has spilled. And repeat. 

Of course, he has no right to complain. A high school dropout certainly should be lucky about getting a job  _ at all _ and while his parents still allow him to live at home they don't want to support his current dream of buying one of those trucks people use for selling stuff. Not that he wants to make people buy tacos, no.  _ Coffee _ is where the money is made. Coffee is what everyone can talk about. Coffee is good. 

But until he can do that, he first has to sell all kinds of objects. And, according to his boss, he shouldn't even comment on the things people buy, no matter how funny the combination. Of course, Jace being Jace, he does comment on almost  _ everything _ . 

Like today when there's nothing on the belt except some tuna and ketchup. Now  _ that  _ sounds delicious. 

He looks up to the person who wants to buy this abomination - a lanky guy with big glasses who grants him a smile, but before he can say anything, the guy  _ cheers _ , “Good evening!”

“Evening,” Jace mumbles, beginning to scan the can of tuna. He just wants to finally crack a joke when the guy talks again. He's really ruining his flow. 

“How are you?”, the guy asks, still smiling. 

Jace blinks at him. “Did you just  _ ask me _ how I am?”

“Uh, yeah.” The guy's smile falls and is replaced by confusion. “Should I have not done that? Oh God, I probably shouldn't. I'm sorry, I'm--”

“No, it's okay!”, Jace quickly says. “It's just… nobody's ever asked that before.”

“ _ Nobody _ has ever asked you how you are?”, the guy repeats. “That's sad, man.”

“I mean-- not at work.”

“That's still sad.”, the guy decides and Jace doesn't know if he's supposed to be offended or not. “I hope you're well.”

“I am, thank you.”, Jace nods as he scans the bottle of ketchup. “That'd be $3.56.”

The guy pays and then leaves, wishing him a good rest of the day. Only when he's gone, Jace notices that he didn't comment on the purchase after all. Shit. 

 

-

 

The next time Jace sees the guy is about a week later. This time, he buys just a frozen pizza with extra cheese and nothing more. Jace would've commented on how too much cheese ruins your cholesterol level but again, he doesn't get that far because the guy asks him again if he's fine. 

It confuses him as much as it's done the first time, so Jace just blinks for a while before saying that he's alright. He wonders if the guy is just friendly to everyone or if he's particularly interested in  _ him _ (understandable, really). 

“Glad to hear that.”, the guy smiles once Jace has answered. 

He’s reaching for his wallet to pay when Jace asks, “And how are you?”, which seems to surprise him since he just drops his arms and gapes at him. 

Jace smirks when he sees that this time, he catches the guy off guard.

“I-- I’m fine. Thank you.”, he stutters and  _ blushes _ .

“That’ll be 1.99.”, Jace chuckles and  _ beams _ when he sees that the guy turns even redder.

 

-

 

Okay, so Jace may be a prick sometimes, especially when he can make fun of people (usually he doesn’t even mean it in a bad way), but deep down he’s a nice guy. So, naturally, when the young Chinese lady who doesn’t understand a word he’s saying doesn’t have two cents to spare, Jace wants to tell her that it’s okay. She’s given him $8 already, and the two cents he could either put into the cash himself or talk to Jem that he drops them completely. He doesn’t think that this would really matter.

But just when he’s about to open his mouth to  _ somehow _ tell her that it’s okay, someone clears their throat behind her.

As she turns around, Jace looks up, too, and sees the guy with the glasses. He holds up two pennies and motions them closer to her, offering one of his big smiles. The woman starts mumbling something at him in a thick accent and reaches for the coins, so Jace guesses that she’s thanking him.

When she’s left, he raises an eyebrow at the guy. “I can’t believe you stole  _ my _ opportunity to be the good guy.”

“Huh?”

“You know,” Jace huffs, “ _ I _ wanted to offer paying. And then you show up and do it.”

“Well, you could always pay  _ me _ back.”, the guy says with a shrug and starts putting his items on the conveyor belt. There’s toothpaste and pudding and many more things that should not be combined.

“Nah.”, Jace tells him. “You owe me now. For starters, your name.”

“My name? Uh, Simon.”

“Well, hello, Simon.”, Jace nods.

The guy -  _ Simon _ \- stares at him. “That’s your cue to tell me  _ your _ name.”

“Uh, no, it isn't. I don't owe you anything.”, Jace notices and starts scanning the things. 

Simon grimaces at him. “Ah, so you're a douchebag.”

“Proudly so.”, Jace winks. “That'll be 10.54.”

 

-

 

Jace doesn't think too much of the fact that, while Simon used to only stop every once in a while, he's now showing up almost every day. He also doesn't think too much of it that he only buys one random product every day and that they chat a lot more nowadays. 

He doesn't know how it happens, but after a little more than a week he feels like he knows  _ everything _ about Simon since the guy seems to enjoying talking a lot. He knows that Simon likes the X-Men more than the Avengers, that he is in his senior year of High School and has a sister. Simon’s told him so many little anecdotes about him and his best friend Clary that Jace feels like he knows her, too. 

Jace, of course, enjoys talking about himself, too. But at the same time, he's determined to annoy the hell out of Simon by playing the mysterious guy. So, while Simon still doesn't even know his name, he does know that Jace was adopted, that he has three siblings and that he's quit High School. Jace has even found himself telling him that Jem, the shop owner, has apparently been close to his biological father and thus has a soft spot for him, so of course he’s gotten to work here. It’s actually pretty cool because Jem may be an Actual Mysterious Guy, but he’s also nice and lets Jace do pretty much everything.

Talking to Simon is enjoyable and even though he should probably be exhausted by the endless talking that Simon does, Jace isn't. It's comfortable and funny for a change, and Simon doesn't even get  _ too _ offended by the jokes he does on his suspense. It doesn't even take too long until Simon shoots back, too. 

Jace likes Simon for all his quirks. 

 

-

 

“Okay, so I know I’m not really the guy with the High School experience here,” Jace says, looking at the tons of bottles of energy drink and cold coffee that Simon’s placed on the belt, “but it isn’t time for your finals yet, is it?”

Simon gives him a sour look. “Finals.”, he repeats with a huff. “I  _ wish _ .”

Jace frowns at him. “And why’d you need to fill yourself up with so much energy then?”

Simon groans loudly, turning so that he can lean against the counter. It’s been a while since their encounters are focussed on buying/paying but rather on talking. “Okay, so my band has this gig on Friday and we have those new songs which are really cool  _ but _ they don’t have lyrics yet.”

“You have a band?”

“That’s what you got out of this?”

Jace shrugs, “Hey, I didn’t  _ know _ that yet. And it’s  _ cool _ . So you write the songs?”

Simon nods, scratching his neck as he always does when he’s nervous. “Uh, yeah, I’m the singer-songwriter and bassist.”

Jace whistles through his teeth. “And you have a gig on… tomorrow?”

“Oh God,” Simon makes, his eyes going wide. “Friday is  _ tomorrow _ . There’s no way I can write lyrics to three songs in a  _ day _ !”

“Simon.”

“Oh God, Maureen will kill me and it’ll be so embarrassing and  _ God _ \--”

“Simon!”

“My friends will be there? Like, the guys from school. Clary I could deal with because, hey, it’s Clary and she’s seen me fail often but--”

“ _ Simon _ !”, Jace repeats. He’s by now standing in front of Simon, grabbing each of his upper arms to catch his attention. “You’ll do  _ fine _ .”

Simon stops talking to look up at him, his chest rising and falling heavily. “How’d you know that?”

“Because, if you  _ don’t _ get to finish the songs until the gig, you’ll just hum and smile and the audience will still love you.”, Jace says. “You’ve got one of those faces.”

“A loveable face?”

Jace rolls his eyes. “Yes, Simon, a loveable face. Will you stop freaking out now?”

Instead of answering, Simon breaks into a bright grin. Jace lets go off his arms at that and steps back. 

“You know, it’s kind of my own fault anyway.”, Simon says, “I’ve had, like,  _ months _ to write those texts, but I’ve wasted my time otherwise, which is really dumb.”

“Well, like I said, just hum at some parts, it’s not like anyone knows that it isn’t meant.”, Jace offers and steps back behind the counter. 

“You could show up and just cheer for me the whole time so it seems like someone likes it.”

For a second Jace finds himself wanting to reply that he’s still gonna have Clary who will probably cheer for him no matter what, but then he realizes that, maybe, in a twisted way, this is Simon asking him to actually come to his band’s gig. “Well, maybe I will.”

“Really?”, Simon beams at him.

“Yeah, why not? I mean, if I even got time.”

“It starts at 8pm. Your shift’s over at half past six, right?”, Simon says. “It’s at this little coffee shop in Brooklyn, so I don’t know how long it’d take you to get there from home, but technically--”

“It should be doable.”, Jace says, shutting up Simon. He smiles, though, so Simon shouldn’t be hurt. Also, he just agreed to watch Simon’s band play. “Maybe you should text me the details.”

“I don’t have your number.”, Simon notices.

Jace sighs and holds out his hand, indicating for Simon to give him his phone. He catches up on it quickly and once Jace has saved his number, Simon checks it.

“Hey, now I have your na-- Haha, very funny. ‘Most Gorgeous Guy In The World’. I didn’t even know contact names could be that long!”

Jace gives him a smile and shrugs. He’s not one to give up his little game just yet. When Simon’s pocketed his phone again, he starts scanning the cans and wishes Simon good luck with the songs.

 

-

 

Jace has actually taken his time to go back home and change into something fresh before rushing to the next subway to the address that Simon’s given him. He’s a little late already because he’s spent almost half an hour staring at his wardrobe to  _ find _ something to wear so the café is already crowded when he enters. Well, at least that’s a reassurance that he’s in the right place.

Simon’s on stage already, strumming something on his bass, and next to him is a black girl holding onto a guitar. She looks at him slightly irritated and only knows Jace can see that Simon looks  _ panicked _ .

Without even thinking about it, Jace makes his way to the front of the crowd, pushing past people and muttering that he knows the guy on stage. It must’ve been quite visible from Simon’s point of view that someone is desperately making their way to the front, because his eyes find Jace’s quickly. He breaks into a small smile when their eyes lock and immediately looks way better, more relaxed. 

Truth be told, Simon’s songs aren’t the most amazing thing he’s ever heard, and Simon’s voice doesn’t make him want to cry, but he’s not  _ bad _ . In fact, he’s rather good. The style of the band’s music isn’t really Jace’s cup of tea, but he guesses if you’re into indie, you could grow to like their sound.

He actually laughs out loud when the refrain of one song is just soft humming and nothing more. 

When they take their break, Simon jumps from the stage and steps up right to him, grinning wildly. “You came!”

“Of course I did,” Jace laughs. “Did you think I make empty promises?”

“Well, you  _ were _ late.”, Simon points out. “How do you like it?”

“Well, I gotta admit it’s not really my kind of music but it’s really  _ good _ . And those lyrics! How did that one song go?  _ Hmmhmmhm… _ ?”

Simon chuckles and throws a punch against his arm. “Oh, screw you. I was just accepting a tip from this asshole I know.”

They’re interrupted by a small girl with red hair who hands Simon a drink. Jace quickly learns that it’s Clary, and from the looks she gives him, Simon must’ve told her about him coming around. He also notes that she doesn’t ask for his name, which satisfies him greatly, somehow. He can see why Simon likes her so much. She’s cheerful and cute and keeps talking about how great Simon was.

They spend some time discussing and laughing until the girl from Simon’s band tells him that their break is over.

Jace and Clary keep standing together when they start playing again, shouting comments on the songs at each other and enjoying the time. It’s fun to be around Clary and Jace finds himself enjoy the gig even more than he’s done before. 

 

-

 

Clary’s disappeared some time after Simon came down from the stage for good. There’s another band playing and while their music is more violent and wilder, something that Jace appreciates as much as the soft sounds of classical music at times, all of his attention is fixed on Simon who’s currently telling about how nervous he’s been. While they talk, they’ve left the café to walk around outside.

Jace smiles when Simon says that he’s been pretty much frozen until he’s seen him show up. It’s nice to know that Simon feels so comfortable around him, because it’s actually the same for him, too. Hanging with Simon is distracting and fun and makes him feel content, for once in his life.

“Okay, but you know how weird it was to tell Clary that you’d stop by? I mean, I told her about you but it’s weird because I don’t even know your  _ name _ .”

Jace snickers at that.

“No, for real! Don’t be such a dick, it’s  _ annoying _ .”, Simon says, but he starts laughing as well. 

“Tell you what,” Jace says, “I’ll tell you my name if you agree to go out with me.”

When Simon doesn’t respond for what seems to be a whole minute, Jace thinks that maybe he’s stepped over a line. Sure, he and Simon have talked a lot and he’d even say they’re friendly, but apart from his general flirtatious comments, there’s nothing been going on to indicate that it goes further. 

But then Simon’s glare turns into a roll of his eyes. “Well,  _ duh _ , you wouldn’t have had to make a deal out of  _ that _ .”

“Is that your way of saying yes?”, Jace wants to know.

“Yes! I mean, of course I’d go out with you! Have you looked at yours-- Yes, obviously, you have. You keep commenting on how great you look.”, Simon says in a serious tone. 

“Oh, come on, you love that.”

Simon just smiles at him. “So, what is your name?”

“Jace.”

“ _ Jace _ ,” Simon repeats. “That’s a really freaking pretentious name. It fits to you.”

“Okay, you know what? Fuck you.”, Jace laughs. “I wanted to buy your next drink for you, but now you’ve screwed up.”

“As if that drink more would really do any more damage to my wallet, considering how much shit I’ve bought in the last month just to have an excuse to talk to you.”, Simon says. He seems to have talked without even thinking about it, because as soon as the words have left his mouth, he looks utterly shocked.

Jace is surprised, too. “Hang on. I mean, I realized you didn’t need all that stuff you bought recently, but  _ for the whole past month _ ?”

Simon’s cheeks are  _ so _ red when he shrugs, smiling at him sheepishly, and Jace’s grin grows even wider. 

“ _ Oh _ , you are so gone for me.”, Jace chuckles and watches as Simon’s  _ entire _ face turns red, slowly reaching his ears, too.

“ _ You _ asked  _ me _ out.”, Simon points out. “I guess I’m not the only one here. Which is-- really.”

“This will be  _ fun _ .”, Jace says and takes the opportunity to grab Simon’s hand from where it’s still hanging in the air. It’s warm against his own and when Jace looks back at Simon’s face, he can see that his face must’ve heated up, too, because his glasses have fogged up. 

Jace has always enjoyed teasing people and if Simon willingly agrees on hanging out with him despite that and has such lively reaction, he’d be damned if he didn’t enjoy every second of it.

**Author's Note:**

> The scene with Simon offering some money to the lady in front of him is something that actually happened to me, too, but in my case it was the cashier who paid for her, so pretty much reversed roles. But be assured, my reaction was about the same as Jace's ;)
> 
> You can reblog this fic [here](http://joanthangroff.tumblr.com/post/153437057063/being-great-must-suck) if you want!


End file.
